memeorandum: BP: Cement plug stopping Gulf oil leak hardened (Jeffrey Collins/Associated Press)

3:35 AM ET, August 9, 2010

Top Items:

Ted Olson To Chris Wallace On Marriage Equality: 'Would You Like Fox's Right To Free Press Put Up To A Vote?' — This morning, Ted Olson — the conservative lawyer who represented President Bush in Bush v. Gore — appeared on Fox News Sunday to discuss his recent victory in overturning Proposition 8 …

Discussion: The Confluence, MyDD, CBS News, Towleroad News #gay and Truth Wins Out

David S Morgan / CBS News:

Same-Sex Marriage Decision: “Far From Over” — Conservative: “Activist” Judge Ruled Against Human History; Boies Says Fear and Prejudice Were Put on Trial, and Lost — (CBS) Even before this week's ruling in the case involving Proposition 8 which banned same-sex marriage in California, appeals of the judge's decision were expected.

Discussion: AMERICAblog Gay and Hot Air

David / Crooks and Liars:
Ted Olson: Same-sex marriage is a conservative value

Discussion: The BRAD BLOG, Lez Get Real and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Andy McCarthy / National Review:

Re: “United States of Arabia,” etc. — Jonah, I appreciate that, big guy, and admiration is very much a two-way street. — On the GZ mosque, Jonah and I are substantially in agreement. I don't mean to weasel, so let me elaborate. I say “substantially” because my sense …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Whiskey Fire, Sadly, No! and Big Journalism

Matthew Yglesias / Washington Post:

Anchor babies, the Ground Zero mosque and other scapegoats — Politics always seems to get a bit off-kilter when the temperature goes up. But instead of the familiar silly-season stuff of years past — made-up scandals and who-cares gossip — the past two summers have been filled with vitriol.

Discussion: Power Line, Hullabaloo, Matthew Yglesias and Washington Monthly

New York Post:

Half-baked mosque — Not so fast. — The developers of the controversial mosque proposed near Ground Zero own only half the site where they want to construct the $100 million building, The Post has learned. — One of the two buildings on Park Place is owned by Con Edison …

Discussion: American Power, Weasel Zippers, Political Byline, Atlas Shrugs, Pajamas Media, Don Surber and JammieWearingFool

Shane D'Aprile / The Hill:

Obama tests basketball skills against LeBron James, Magic Johnson — President Obama hosted more than a dozen current and former basketball pros for an afternoon game at Fort McNair Sunday. — The group included LeBron James, Grant Hill, Dwyane Wade, Magic Johnson and Bill Russell.

Discussion: The Swamp, CNN, National Review and Scared Monkeys

Rachel Streitfeld / CNN:

Activists rally to ‘Free Bradley Manning’ in WikiLeaks case — Quantico, Virginia (CNN) — Activists rallied outside the Marine Corps base at Quantico, Virginia, Sunday to applaud the man military officials suspect leaked scores of military documents to the WikiLeaks website — a 22-year-old Army private named Bradley Manning.

Discussion: American Power, BLACKFIVE, Weasel Zippers and Bradley Manning Support …

Frank Rich / New York Times:

How to Lose an Election Without Really Trying — COULD George W. Bush be a kind of Gipper-in-reverse and win yet one more for the Democrats? Clearly this White House sees him as the gift that will keep on giving. The 2010 campaign against the Bush administration is in full cry, with President Obama leading the charge.

Discussion: BuzzFlash.org, DownWithTyranny!, Don Surber, The Sideshow, No More Mister Nice Blog, Commentary, Daily Kos and Prairie Weather

Sherry Jacobson / Dallas Morning News:

Across Texas, 60,000 babies of noncitizens get U.S. birthright — sjacobson@dallasnews.com — As Republican members of Congress press for changes to the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, preventing automatic citizenship for babies born to illegal immigrants, opponents insist the debate is not really about babies.

Discussion: Fox News, Don Surber, Townhall.com and Weasel Zippers

Bloomberg:

U.S. Economy Improving, More Stimulus Isn't the Answer, Rubin, O'Neill Say — The U.S. economy will improve slowly and another round of fiscal stimulus probably wouldn't be effective, former Treasury secretaries Paul O'Neill and Robert Rubin said. — Rubin, who served under Democratic …

Discussion: Paul Krugman, Hullabaloo, Philly.com, Clusterstock and Eschaton

Jeffrey Collins / Associated Press:

BP: Cement plug stopping Gulf oil leak hardened — NEW ORLEANS (AP) — BP says the cement sealing the busted oil well in the Gulf of Mexico has hardened as crews prepare for the final phase of drilling a relief well. — The oil giant said Sunday that pressure tests on the cement plug poured …

Discussion: The Page and New York Magazine

Shane D'Aprile / The Hill:

McCain on Colorado Senate race: The Buck stops here — Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) headlined two campaign rallies for Colorado Senate candidate Jane Norton (R) Sunday. — Norton is locked in a close and nasty primary battle with Prosecutor Ken Buck (R). The state's primary is Tuesday.

Discussion: The Page